Tuesday, 3 April 2012

Turkey wants Turkish citizens to have visa free travel
inside the European Union.

EU Minister Egeman Bagis officially sent letters to the EU
commissioner on the issue – Turkey has complied with EU criteria on visa free
travel and Bagis stressed Turkey’s disappointment that Turkish citizens had not
been granted visa free travel inside the EU.

Bagis released a statement which read: “The current Schengen
visa regime against Turkish citizens constitutes an obstacle to the
strengthening of relations between Turkish people and the peoples of the EU, as
it prevents people to people contact, which is indispensable for the EU
accession process.”

Bagis suggested that the EU would benefit from more visits
from Turkish citizens should they be granted free travel inside the EU. The strong
Turkish economy could be a beneficial factor in the EU lifting visa
requirements for Turkish citizens.

A meeting has been set up on April 26th that will
see further discussion between Turkey and the EU on the matter.

The lifting of the visa requirements for Turkish citizens to
travel freely around Europe would be a huge step for Turkey, Turkey is booming
on all fronts and those Turkish citizens who are looking to travel are
sometimes held back at the prospect of visa requirements. The lifting of visarequirements for Turkish citizens would remove this worry.